ENHANCE YOUR CARD SECURITY

PROTECT YOURSELF

Important steps to enhance your Card security

All American Express® Cards issued from 1 July 2012 will require Card Activation before first use. This is an extra step to protect you against fraudulent transactions on your Card Account. Card Activation is required for all New, Renewal and Replacement Basic and Supplementary Cards.

As part of our ongoing commitment to safeguard the security of your Card Account, we have put in place additional security measures to provide you with greater peace of mind when you use your
American Express® Card.

Magnetic Stripe Usage - Overseas

In line with the industry-wide initiative to enhance Card security, the magnetic stripe on all
American Express Cards will be deactivated for overseas use on 1 October 2013.

Cardmembers will be required to activate the magnetic stripe on their American Express Card(s) to enable the following:

Overseas transactions at magnetic stripe (swipe) terminals

Overseas Cash Withdrawals (ATM)

You may activate the magnetic stripe on your Card for a date-specific or an non-date specific period.

To activate/deactivate the magnetic stripe on your Card for overseas use, please use the following channels:

From June 2012, we will be providing alerts to you whenever a transaction of S$1,000 and above is made on your Card. These alerts will be sent to you via SMS or Email. For more information, please click here for FAQs.

To make changes to the threshold amount or delivery preferences, log on to your Online Services Account at www.americanexpress.com.sg. If you have enrolled and indicated your alert preferences previously, they will remain unchanged.

Cessation of Domestic Magnetic Stripe Transactions

From 1 July 2012, we will cease accepting all domestic magnetic stripe transactions for Singapore-issued American Express Cards. For more information, please click here for FAQs.

Extended Alerts

Please note that from March 2012, you will be receiving notifications of confirmation from American Express each time you make a change to the personal information on your Card Account such as your billing address, mobile number or email address. For more information, please click here for FAQs.

American Express SafeKey is an added security layer to safeguard your online purchases for your peace of mind. This is one of the initiatives in support of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) to improve card payments security.

From 1 April 2011, you will be required to enter a One-Time Password (OTP) when making online purchases at participating merchants that display the American Express SafeKey logo on their websites.

How does it work?

An added security layer for online Credit Card transactions, American Express SafeKey only applies to participating online merchants certified by American Express. When making online purchases at these merchants, an OTP will be sent to you to authenticate each transaction. You will receive this OTP via SMS and/or Email using the contact details you have put on file for your American Express Card.

Do I need to register for SafeKey?

SafeKey is easy and it is free. You are automatically registered for SafeKey and do not need to take any additional action to take advantage of this online security benefit. When you checkout at participating SafeKey merchants, an OTP will automatically be sent to your mobile phone number and/or Email address on file. As always, please be sure to keep your mobile phone number and Email address up to date with American Express for all of your basic and supplementary Cards. However, if you are shopping at a participating SafeKey merchant and need to update your mobile phone or Email address on file, you can also update your contact details during checkout in a few simple steps to get an OTP sent to your updated contact details in real time for that transaction.

For more information on American Express SafeKey, click here for the FAQs.

With the EMV Smart Chip, your Card is better protected against fraudulent activities. Unlike magnetic stripe only Cards, an EMV Smart Chip Card contains a microprocessor Chip that uses encryption to prevent its contents from being copied. This makes it nearly impossible for fraudsters to decode or tamper with the Card.

We are progressively migrating all Cardmembers to EMV Smart Chip Cards from 1 November 2010. You can expect your new Card to arrive in the coming weeks.

What to expect when your new Card arrives

Your old Card will be deactivated within 45 days from the Card issuance date, so please destroy it.

You will receive a first usage alert via SMS, email or letter following your first transaction on the new Chip Card.

Your Card number remains the same as the existing magnetic stripe only Card.

American Express takes any fraudulent usage of its Card products very seriously. As outlined in our existing terms and conditions, we have policies and systems in place for the protection of our Cardmembers against any potential fraudulent purchases on their Cards:

All of our American Express® Proprietary Cards come with a $100 limit on liability.

This means that as long as a Cardmember has acted responsibly in safeguarding the Card and promptly informed American Express upon any incidence of Card loss, the Cardmember’s liability before reporting the Card loss is limited to the caps stated above.

We also have various systems and controls in place to detect, prevent and safeguard your interests by minimising the occurrence of any fraudulent Card usage in the first place. These include:

Making outbound calls to Cardmembers if we believe the transaction is irregular or questionable.

For online transactions, we urge and encourage our merchants to implement fraud prevention controls by seeking additional information to allow us to match it against real-time authorisation of the transactions.

Our compromise detection system allows us to rapidly take precautionary actions if there is a batch of Cards that may be compromised.

- 90-day Accident and Theft Guarantee²:
Almost anything you buy with your American Express Card², anywhere in the world, is automatically insured against accidental damage or theft for 90 days from the date of purchase.

- 90-day Return Guarantee²:
If you’re not satisfied with anything you purchased with your Card in Singapore, return it within 90 days of purchase and we will gladly give you a refund on it even if the store does not.

² Purchase Protection is underwritten by Chubb Insurance Singapore Limited. Terms and Conditions apply. Purchase protection is only available to Personal, Gold, Platinum and Charter American Express Charge Cardmembers holding a valid American Express Card.

Should you encounter a problem outside the country, we can provide you with immediate advice and referrals to an English-speaking doctor or lawyer anywhere in the world - 24 hours a day.

There are 1,700 locations around the globe. Contact the office nearest you for:
- Expert travel planning advice
- Help with car rental and travel arrangements
- American Express® Travellers Cheques and foreign currency
- Maps and information about the local area and culture.

Shop online with confidence when you pay with the American Express® Card. We'll stand behind your online purchases just as we do when you purchase items over the phone or in person. You'll also not be held responsible for any unauthorised charges online4.

In fact, American Express takes specific measures to protect your safety and privacy online. We use the latest technology to keep your account number secure; we have a clearly stated online privacy protection policy. And we stand by it.

The Online Fraud Protection Guarantee applies to cards issued by American Express in selected markets. In some markets, partners (e.g. some local Banks) issue Cards, so Cardmembers will need to refer to the partner for details of their terms and conditions.

4Provided you notify us immediately upon discovery of any fraudulent transactions and you have complied with the Card Conditions, you will not be held liable for any charges. Immediately means as soon as you are aware but no later than or or before the due date of the statement in which the fraudulent transaction appears.